The Ones You Love
by Kleines
Summary: DCI Tom Barnaby is good at his Job but he also has enemies. And this is how Cully gets into danger. Will Tom be able to rescue her before she Comes to harm and before she learns how cruel the world can be? Sequel to Cully's Question but also works on its own.
1. Chapter 1

Folks, the plot bunny has bitten me. Normally, you'll get fluffy romances from me but this one will be a little different. The angst elements will be as tuned low as possible because we're dealing with children here but apart from that there is little romance to be found in that one. So sorry for this but I still hope that you enjoy this and next time I will return to some peaceful and romantic story but right now: Welcome to murderous Midsomer! Ah, yes, it is a loose sequel to _Cully's Question_ but you don't necessarily need to read it to be able to follow that one although I would like you to :)

Anyway, have fun with _The Ones You Love_!

Chapter One:

"... And then Josh said they came running into the living room, these coppers...", Cully was so excited that she hardly noticed her dad entering the kitchen. Her mother was listening attentively to her daughter telling a story from school and barely turned towards her husband. Tom Barnaby, however, wrinkled his brow disapprovingly and asked sharper than usually: "Who said coppers?!"

"Dad!", Cully jumped from her chair and hugged her father but he was not distracted: "Cully, who told you this story?"

"Josh came to school today and told us how his older brother was imprisoned yesterday. He said..." Cully trailed of insecurely when she saw the look on her father's face. Carefully, Joyce intervened because she noticed the storm brewing on her husband's face: "What happened, Tom?"

Tom Barnaby straightened and sat down at the kitchen table heavily. It had been a hard day but there was no need to worry his family. So he just said: "Dan Murrew has been arrested today. He will be convicted for theft and shoplifting..."

"Oh!", was all that Joyce said and turned to the dinner boiling away on the stove. This was a matter her husband and daughter had to sort out between themselves.

Cully had been telling stories about Josh Murrew from school over and over again. He was her best friend and the two of them had been in some mischief together, nothing serious of course but Tom had been worried about this for the last few months. When Cully had announced that she would either marry her dad or Josh he had been seriously hurt but told himself to not be silly. Of course, one day he would have to let Cully go but he simply didn't like the fact that his daughter was friends with a boy from a good-for-nothing-family. Joyce had accused her husband time and again of being snobbish because Josh's family was neither rich nor particularly socially accepted but Tom had archly reminded her that his own background was also not exactly picture-perfect and that had been the end of it.

"Well, Cully, if you call your dad a copper, you cannot marry him in a few years", Tom just explained to her with a smile that tipped her off that he was joking. He would never let her know how much it had hurt him to hear her talk about his colleagues and by extension about him in this derisive term and her tone had deeply shocked him. And he knew very well that this was all Josh's doing. Of course he understood that the young boy was angry and scared to see his older brother handcuffed and taken away but that was not his problem at the moment.

"Yes dad. Sorry dad", Cully replied meekly and hugged her father again. Tom smiled over Cully's head at Joyce and thus dinner that evening was a quite peaceful affair. By the time Cully was safely tucked in, she had again turned trustfully towards her father and looked up at him with her eyes that were far too awake for bedtime and told him: "Dad, I know that you are the best copp... eh police man around. I love you, dad!"

Tom smiled down at his daughter and gave her a kiss. Then he said despite himself: "Don't worry about Josh and his brother. It will be alright. But you know that when you do something wrong, there will be consequences..."

"I know dad...", Cully said but then she sighed: "But sometimes the things that you are not supposed to do are so much fun... like climbing that apple tree at Mrs Barnhurst's..."

Just a few weeks ago, Josh and Cully had gone up said tree and were stuck on one of the upper branches. It was quite an effort to get the two kids down again and Cully had to surrender some of her pocket money as a consequence.

Despite himself Tom had to smile – oh yes, his daughter was already too wise for her age. But he had to admit that she was right. He leant in and whispered in a conspiratorial tone: "Sometimes the trick is to not be detected..."

Cully looked at him surprised and when he broke into a grin she laughed with him and Tom was relieved to feel that today was not the day that he would loose his precious daughter.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

„Good morning sir!", his sergeant was already there and he looked alarmed. Well, not that that was anything new, Tom had to admit. The young man always looked slightly worried. When Tom got to know John Clifford, he had at first tried to chase that worried look away but two years into their collaboration, Tom had learnt that there was nothing on earth that would turn John into a young carefree man – not to speak of cheerful. Maybe that was the reason why he had joined the force, Tom had sarcastically mused.

This morning, however, John looked even more worried than usual and Tom could detect the first lines and wrinkles in the younger man's face.

"Good morning, Clifford. What is it?" he asked without much ado and as if John had just waited for this cue he rather dramatically pointed at Tom's desk. The DCI's workplace was always tidy when he was not wrapped up in a case and as it was rather calm after the arrest two days ago, he didn't expect anything on the surface of his davenport. All the more surprised was he when he spotted a brown envelope. John had been trailing behind him and explain: "It was in the mail this morning, sir. Addressed to you so I didn't open it..."

Maybe, Tom thought, Clifford was like this because he was still intimidated by him. He sighed silently – yes, he could be harsh and just because he used his sense of humour seldom and then it turned out rather caustic, it didn't mean that he was a misanthrope or a man-eater. Maybe he should invite the sergeant over to a dinner. Although Joyce's cooking skills would not help his case, her motherly and kind-hearted ways would definitely.

While he was still pondering the social implications of a working relationship he ripped open the envelope and fished a single sheet of paper from it. Letters from newspaper cuttings formed the rather cryptic text "whaT ABout thE oNes YOU loVE copPER? BetTer be caRefuL"

The worry-lines on John's face deepened while Tom just snorted with disgust and threw the paper down on his desk.

"Sir?" his sergeant asked timidly and Tom realized that the young man was really frightened.

"Nothing to worry about, Clifford. Just some nutter out there trying to get some attention..."

"But sir, there is a threat to your family in this. Don't you think we should investigate..." the man trailed of insecurely and Tom turned around sharply. In his blue eyes barely supressed fury was blazing and John stepped back.

"First and most importantly, Clifford, believe me, I am capable of protecting my family and I do this on a daily basis. I have taken precautions long ago, so if you could please mind your own business?! And secondly, how exactly would you investigate this? It was dropped into the mailbox outside the station, no stamp, no nothing. And in my opinion nothing we should take too seriously..."

Tom stalked of to get a coffee and left a dumbfounded sergeant behind. Invitation to dinner cancelled, Tom thought sourly as he wrapped his fingers around the mug. His anger at the younger man surprised him but then again he lived in constant fear that something could happen to Joyce or Cully and threats like this made it worse every time. This was by no means the first threat that he had received and the coolness with which he had reacted was well trained. The first time a threat to his wife had arrived at the station, Tom had been crazy with worry and had tried to find the sender of the letter but to no avail. The next times had not been much better and thus he had slowly gotten used to it. More experienced colleagues had told him that this was indeed nothing out of the usual but very rarely a threat was put into action.

Still, Tom had always had a sick feeling in his stomach and this time was no difference. Without showing it to his sergeant, he forced down his coffee and ordered the young man to sort through some paperwork while he dug out cold cases. He knew very well that it was useless to look into these files again – all traces had long gone cold – but this was his usual tactic to keep his mind from the threat.

For a few seconds, he toyed with the thought of calling Joyce and warning her but then again, what use would it be to alarm her? No, he would be more vigilant than usual and if he felt that something was strange, he would ask one of his colleagues to keep a watchful eye on his house and Cully especially. She had the bad habit of roaming around the neighbourhood and wandering of into fields, meadows and forests with friends from school.

Tom sighed and shortly buried his head in his hands. Having a family as a copper could be quite a challenge at times. John watched his superior from the corner of his eyes but he didn't say a word. Still he was relieved to see that the tough DCI had some human feelings about him.


	3. Chapter 3

So here we go – the plot does not yet thicken but it eventually will :)

Katierw80, thank you for your lovely review! I also don't think that Tom is per se unfriendly to John but this piece of paper really gets to him, so he is more snarky than usual. But the rest of his colleagues seem to know how to take it. So let's just assume that the sergeant and the DCI are not yet such a good team on an emotional basis...

Oh, and a thing about the time: Cully is about seven which means that Tom and Joyce are definitely younger than in the series – mid to end-thirties maybe. So all characters are less ... well... wordly-wise than we know them.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the next bit!

Chapter 3:

Tom went home this afternoon earlier than usual. First and foremost, there was absolutely nothing to do. It was just a boring Wednesday and while he had kept his sergeant busy with paperworks, reports and sorting through stacks and stacks of old files, his own head was filled with a bubble of worry that made it impossible for him to think straight.

The threat had not been a secret at the station and now and then a colleague had dropped by, put a reassuring hand on his shoulder or chatted about some trivial things to keep him distracted for a few minutes. Tom appreciated the effort although he didn't say anything. But his colleagues knew him well enough to just smile and nod at him.

At half past three the superintendent had shown up in the door and marched straight to his desk.

"Barnaby, you go home. Enough is enough..." he had roughly declared but the way he had patted his shoulder had told the DCI that this was not a telling-off. They all had been there at one point, so even the superintendent understood.

Gratefully, Tom had picked up his things and had been out of the station like a dash.

Driving home in a rush, Tom had been relieved to see Joyce's car on the gravel. He tried to not run in through the front door and heard his wife sing in the living room. His smile was full of relief and love and when he went into the living room, Joyce turned surprised and she was all the more surprised by Tom's wide smile and him taking her in his arm. His kiss was full of tenderness and love and when they broke apart, Joyce was a little breathless when she asked: "Tom, what are you doing here already?"

In a split of a second he decided to say nothing about what had transpired today. Smoothly he lied: "Oh well, there's not much to do and I thought that I could help with the cooking for a change." ... and maybe get a decent dinner once... he added silently.

"But where is Cully?" he asked. Normally, she should be home from school by now and when she heard her father coming home, she normally came to greet him and tell him about her day at school. The bad feeling that had waned for a few moments came back and he sank on the sofa. It was useless to think that Joyce would surely not sing in the living room if something had happened to their daughter.

"She staying with Selena for the night" Joyce explained cheerfully and missed the expression of dismay on Tom's face. In a time like this he would have preferred to have his daughter at home. But then again, maybe it was safer for her to be at places where she was not expected to be. On the spur of the moment, he decided that this would also go for Joyce and therefore a dinner out was the thing to do.

Tom knew that he was lousy at seduction but he tried nevertheless: "What do you think, Joycy, we could have dinner at the Golden Hind and then have a cosy evening – just the two of us..."

Just as he had suspected Joyce started laughing and asked: "Is there something you want, Tom Barnaby?"

He tried his best Casanova-imitation and failing miserably declared: "Only you, my love!"

Still laughing, Joyce agreed to a dinner out and got up to their bedroom to change into some clothes suitable for the elegant restaurant Tom had proposed while Tom himself was pacing impatiently in the hall. He couldn't help it but Cully not being at home worried him beyond description. A luxurious dinner and who knows what else was just the thing to take his mind off these things. At least this was what he hoped.

Dinner had been a catastrophe. Joyce had tried her best to chat about trivial things – her course on Shakespeare, the theatre company, the meeting of the parents of Cully's class, their next holiday to the Lake District – but Tom had been barely able to order a dish. To her immense surprised he had picked the Vegetarian option and when the first course arrived, he had asked the waiter flabbergast what exactly the green and orange stuff on his plate was supposed to be. When he had realized that he had ordered the vegetarian option his patience had worn thin and Joyce had to smooth things over.

When the waiter had withdrawn – a mixture of offended pride and patient suffering on his face – Joyce had just asked two question: "What has happened, Tom? Have you been fired?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV

The notion had been so absurd that Tom nearly chocked on the asparagus while he tried to control his laughter. He knew he sounded hysterical when he replied "Of course not Joyce!"

"What's wrong with you then? You better tell me!" Joyce demanded and she looked so fierce that Tom was worried for a moment that she would stab him with her steak knife if he refused to tell her.

Sighing he gave in.

"See, love, today at the station a threat was delivered to me. It seems that you as well as Cully could be target of... something..." Tom trailed off with a helpless gesture of his hands that suddenly seemed too big and clumsy for his cutlery which clattered on the plate.

Joyce had gone pale but she took to the thing with calm logic – a trait that Tom admired and loved in his wife. Joyce never lost her head; she was his voice of reason when he was hopelessly lost.

"Now I understand a lot. But Cully is safe at the Helverstons, don't you worry. Carol and Jonathan would never let the two girls out of their sight. And whoever would target Cully would never expect her to be out of the house tonight..."

Joyce's calm voice putting in words his own thoughts were a relief for Tom and he nodded: "That was what I also thought and this is the reason why I suggested eating out. I felt it would be safer for you..."

Joyce had to laugh: "Come on, whoever holds a grudge against you would never target me when there is Cully. A child is easy prey, right?"

Tom hated himself for once, a long time ago, having told all of this to his wife whose faithful memory of course served her right. When you could have a child, don't target an adult. Children were easier to lure into a trap, a child would always fetch a high ransom and the police would normally see to it that the target, as they phrased it, would not be hurt. And the press, they were like vultures on a story like that.

"What did Clifford say? Was he as worried as you?"

Tom looked ashamed when his wife mentioned his sergeant and he had to admit: "Clifford wanted to investigate but I told him to hold his horses. There is nothing to investigate when you just get newspaper clipping and no deed done. I was maybe a little rough with him but I am worried enough without him and his overeagerness..."

Joyce watched her husband. Tom was normally calm and reasonable. He was used to danger, to situation that were out of the ordinary, and sadly this was not the first time that his family had been made target. But normally, he could handle these things much better than this. He looked strained, hopeless and a diffuse fear shone in his eyes. Joyce did not care for manners, decorum and adequate behaviour, she did not care that they were sitting in a Michelin-restaurant, where Tom had already annoyed the waiter. All she did care about was her husband. She got up, came around the table and knelt next to Tom. Tenderly she put her arms around her husband and kissed him gently. Then she whispered into his ear: "Tom, some things are beyond your control. Please stop worrying. No matter what happens – I love you and Cully does too."

When she reoccupied her seat, she saw his eyes shine with emotion and he managed a watery smile: "Where would I be without you, Joyce Barnaby?"

The rest of the dinner was a very silent affair and cut short because Tom wanted to go home. Restless as he was, he insisted on phoning the Helverstons to make sure that everything was alright.

Jonathan answered the phone and sounded bemused when Joyce enquired after her daughter. Both girls were upstairs and fast asleep he confirmed when Joyce wanted to know precisely what Cully was doing. Joyce did not want to frighten Jonathan and she especially wanted to avoid Cully knowing how worried her parents were – so she made up a quick excuse of Cully having complained about a pain in her stomach in the morning and she wanted to check whether this was one of the more common strategies to skip school or something serious.

Jonathan laughed at the other end of the line and a short parental talk about their daughters ensued and then Joyce ended the call. Tom had been standing near her in the hope of catching some words of the conversation but when he saw Joyce's relieved smile he knew everything that he needed to know and soon, the Barnabys were ready to turn in.

While Joyce was fast asleep in a matter of minutes, sleep escaped Tom and all his worries and fears seemed all the more frightening in the dark. He sighed deeply and at five in the morning he gave up of catching another wink of sleep. All in all he had maybe slept three hours when he got out of bed.

Without waking Joyce he sneaked down the stairs and made coffee. At shortly after six he was out of the house and on his way to work. No wonder that he was the first on the empty parking lot of the station. One look in the rear mirror confirmed that he looked as awful as he felt and he just wished that this day would be over fast and in the evening, Cully would be eager to share some trivial and sometimes wonderfully absurd stories about school.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V

Tom was not surprised that Clifford handled him as if he held a bundle of explosives and he was not exactly in the mood of being social or even apologetic. So he just stuck his head in the papers connected to the shoplifting case of Dan Murrew. The trial would be next week and he wanted this case to be closed because it was too closely connected to Cully for him to be entirely comfortable with handling this.

He sighed and looked at the pictures of the stuff Dan had stolen: A bottle of whiskey, chewing gum, chocolate bars and cigarettes, all from a shop, nothing out of the ordinary. Worse was the fact that he had been stealing from old and trustful people – jewellery, collectables, and two of these phones for senior citizens. Amateur stuff really, and Dan's life would probably be ruined for such a thing. Midsomer community was small and the good citizens of the villages and Causton had excellent memories; the only option for Dan was to seek employment and a future elsewhere in Britain. Tom decided to make it as easy for Dan as possible because he wanted the young lad not to be branded as a criminal – although strictly speaking that was what he was.

The DCI and his sergeant would be present at the hearings and he needed to make a statement. Tom would stress that Dan had been most cooperative as soon as he was caught and he didn't seem to be a troublemaker when they took him to the station. There was a mixture of boredom and desperation in his statements – out of work and out of money, the young man was just looking for something to do and had taken to shoplifting and robbery. All the elderly people had told Tom that Dan had been such a charming and polite young man that they thought nothing of letting him into their homes.

What a wasted youth! Tom hated such cases that just came with rural life where jobs were rare, young people not willing to move to the cities just for a job. But he would make sure that Dan would get a job as soon as he was released.

While making such plans, the short coffee break at half past nine approached and Clifford tentatively inched closer to his boss' desk. Tom looked up and managed an exhausted smile: "Time for coffee, is it?"

"Well, yes sir... I just wanted to ask if you'd fancy a cup..." Clifford stated insecurely.

Tom got up from his chair and said "Don't trouble yourself, Clifford, I am going to get us some caffeine..."

Clifford watched his boss walking down the office and noticed the tired slump of his shoulders. He knew that this was probably all he would get as an apology but he was willing to take it because he could hardly imagine how it would be to be in the DCI's shoes. Clifford neither had wife nor kids and when he saw the consequences that an ordinary family life could have he was in no hurry to change that.

When the DCI returned balancing two cups, Clifford dared to ask: "Any news?"

"None whatsoever. And I hope it stays that way. If anything changes, you'll be the first to be informed" Tom answered curtly and then buried his nose in his cup. Clifford nodded, warning duly taken.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully and by half past three Tom was barely able to keep his eyelids from dropping and he decided to call it a day. He was sure that he would sleep like a baby tonight – the only challenge was to not fall asleep on his drive home.

When the tyres crunched on the gravel in front of his house he was toying with the idea of a short nap on the couch but dismissed the thought – he would be wide awake again in the night. His brain was too tired to focus on something else than sleep and eating and when he crossed the threshold he did not notice that Cully was not bouncing down the hall to greet him as was her usual habit although it was about the time that she normally returned from school.

Joyce was in the living room, buried to her nose in old pictures she sorted through for some exhibition entitled "Midsomer in former times" and he gladly let himself be drawn into stories of old about the county. Both were so engaged with what they were doing and Tom was still fighting his tiredness that they flinched when the clock in the hallway struck five.

Alarmed, Tom looked up and asked the question that was also clearly written across Joyce's pale face: "Where is Cully?"


End file.
